Africa

The author in the cockpit getting a bird's eye view.

African Love Story

Our family’s first trip to Africa took place during the summer of 2007. I chose African travel destinations that would maximize our game viewing opportunities. We visited three camps in Botswana, one in Namibia and spent two nights in Pretoria – the sister town to Johannesburg.

Before travelling to Africa, I had never considered myself to be a naturalist. Likewise, none of my friends could envision me sitting still in a jeep, day after day, watching the natural world unfold. But, that first trip to Africa was a life-changing experience for me.  I loved it, and on the plane home I began planning another trip. Our second trip was an extravaganza that included fifteen family members; my children and husband and I wanted to share our love of Africa with others. On our third trip, my husband and I experienced the famous migration in Tanzania; our last trip was to camps in both South Africa and Botswana.

To see why we fell in love with the animals of Africa just click on the following link: http://www.flickr.com//photos/10694065@N03/show/

The initial trip was all about ‘firsts’ – the first sighting of a lion – our first zebra. It is tremendously exciting to watch animals in the wild that you have only ever seen before in a zoo. And they are so close. I’ll never forget two lions walking past our open-sided jeep and stopping to lick the headlights – our first thought was “where can we hide?”

The guides are highly trained professionals who relate many stories and much information about each animal. Even the most mundane facts becomes interesting: lions whiskers are like fingerprints, each one unique to the individual lion; elephants grow new molars every 8 years; the warthog looks as though it is prays as it feeds, kneeling on its short front legs; the impala appears to be marked with an “M” on its backside, and is referred to as the African MacDonald’s of Africa since there is one on every corner. The guides watch for subtle signs of animal activity: vultures hovering above a kill; impalas calling and alert when they sense danger; animal droppings that indicate how recently a herd has passed through the area. Wild cats are the big thrill for me, but I love all the African animals.

On return trips, I found that the experience was more about the watching, the waiting and enjoying the seemingly random way in which nature unfolds in the wild. An example of this occurred on one of our later trips. Shortly after our arrival in Botswana’s Mombo camp, we headed out for the afternoon game drive. As it turned out, a mother leopard (Legadema) was sleeping nearby, her baby hidden. We sat back and were content to watch the sleeping animal while enjoying a cold drink and getting to know our guide. Other jeeps passed on this sleepy scene, but our patience was rewarded when the mother cat awoke and the baby came out to play. We enjoyed a full two hours of watching the mother and baby interact.

They're awake!

There was a lot of grooming, but also a lot of teaching going on as the baby learned the art of pouncing by following its mothers’ tail. We also viewed an impala kill by the mother leopard. This proved to be a bittersweet experience since the baby strayed too far away from its mother as she was busy dealing with the impala, and was killed that night by hyenas. We were lucky to not only to be the only group in camp to see the baby, but to get the last views of it climbing a tree.

Legadema and cub. This mother leopard has had many cubs but only 3 have reached maturity.

When booking a trip:

·   Get a specialist in African adventure travel destinations. I used a group out of San Francisco which also has an office in South Africa. The ‘specialists’ travel to Africa annually to keep up to date on any changes. The link to this group is http://www.luxurysafaricamps.com/.

·   Choose camps that allow ‘off-road’ driving – there are very specific rules about where the jeep can go, and the guides can lose their license if they disobey the rules. Respect this fact.

·    There are 4 levels of camps – the levels relate to the quality of the lodging, the number of people in each jeep and the quality of the food and drink. In my view, the most important factor is the maximum number of people in each jeep. 

·     Don’t try and go to too many countries in a single vacation– the distances are large and you waste too much time getting from one location to the other.

·    Stay three nights per camp – I believe that this provides enough time to relax and enjoy yourself – and to clean your clothes!

·    The best season for animal viewing is June – September. Remember it is actually COLD at that time of year in areas of Africa that are below the equator. And by this I mean you will need sweaters, scarves and fleece jackets! Hot water packs are provided in many camps for use in bed at night. The winter is great for big game viewing but not so great for other potential activities such as vineyards tours and trips to Cape Town.

 

The camps we have stayed in are run by Wilderness Safaris. The link to their website is http://www.wilderness-safaris.com/index.jsp. Also, Singita Lodges in South Africa at http://www.singita.com. There are many other options, but we have had great success with these companies.